The present subject matter relates generally to a pressurized vessel. More specifically, the present invention is a pressurized vessel cylinder designed to more easily enable regulatory compliant installation of a fire extinguisher and its attendant components in varied commercial and residential applications.
Fire extinguishers play a vital role in preserving both life and property. It has been estimated that these devices were used to extinguish more than 80 percent, or five million, of the unintended fires in the United States in 2010. The most common portable fire extinguishers are those having a cylinder capacity to hold either five pounds or ten pounds of fire extinguishing agent. These types of fire extinguishers are ubiquitous in commercial structures.
Unsurprisingly, fire extinguishers are also subject to legal and regulatory scrutiny. Although there is no all-encompassing fire code in the United States, most state and municipal governments (largely by adoption of the International Fire Code) have enacted health and safety laws regarding fire extinguishers. Regulatory entities play a large role as well. For example, the American National Standards Institute (hereinafter “ANSI”) publishes structural integrity standards for fire extinguisher cylinder manufacturing. Additionally, the Americans with Disabilities Act Design Guidelines (hereinafter “the ADADGs”) provide fire extinguisher installation compliance guidelines intended to protect people with disabilities. Of course, numerous other regulatory bodies may provide regulation and/or testing requirements for fire extinguishers, including OSHA, NFPA, D.O.T., C.G.A., and UL. While much of the description provided herein centers around examples related to ANSI, it is contemplated that the requirements or tests any of these or other agencies may be equally or more important.
The ADADGs require that anything mounted above 27 inches, including fire extinguishers and extinguisher cabinets, cannot protrude more than four inches into a path of travel. Five-pound capacity fire extinguishers, as presently being manufactured and installed, are circular in cross section and protrude greater than four inches from the mounting surface or wall unless they are recessed into the mounting surface or wall within a cabinet or niche. In fact, no existing fire extinguishers have at least a five-pound capacity and also a cylinder depth (i.e., cross section diameter) of less than 4.25 inches. Many of these devices are currently installed in violation of the ADADGs.
Practical and aesthetic problems with fire extinguisher installation abound as well. The most common depth of framing studs for commercial drywall partitions (e.g., walls) is 3.625 inches, and the most common depth for residential construction framing studs is 3.5 inches. Meanwhile, the depth of the smallest five-pound fire extinguisher presently manufactured is 4.25 inches. It is therefore impossible to install a five-pound or larger fire extinguisher into a “flush” or “fully recessed” style fire extinguisher cabinet if the walls were framed with either 3.625 inch or 3.5 inch studs. The semi-recessed cabinets which are presently manufactured to house existing fire extinguishers within a 3.625 inch or 3.5 inch studded wall will protrude from the wall anywhere between 1.5 to 4 inches. Fire extinguisher cabinets which are fire-rated will protrude even more than non-rated cabinets, as the cabinet walls are thicker. Consequently, if there is a desire (aesthetics) or need (clearances) to further recess the present fire extinguisher cabinet types, (i.e., to a flush or fully recessed cabinet position) then either the wall depth must be increased or the fire extinguisher must be relocated where it is either not an obstruction or it is aesthetically acceptable. Each of these options may be impractical or cost-prohibitive for designers of commercial structures where fire extinguishers are required.
As such, there is a need for a pressurized vessel of alternate shape that dispenses material under adequate force while maintaining the integrity of the cylinder and complying with federal regulation regarding fire extinguishers.